🗺My Story

I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord

–Jeremiah 31:14

 

I was born and raised in the USA. As long as I can remember, way back into childhood, I had a premonition that I’d marry someone from outside the USA. Meanwhile, in another hemisphere, a young man had the premonition that he’d marry an American.

Once when I was traveling through India, I met a certain minister. Although I had met many people from all around the world, never before had I met any man who showed such passion and love for Jesus. We became close, and as we prayed God began speaking to our hearts about His will for our relationship. Two years later I planed to go overseas to teach English as a volunteer, but my love caused a change of my plans by proposing!

We decided to have a small engagement celebration at our home. He lead me into our living room, and he had written, “Anna, will you marry me?” in rose petals on the floor. He went down on one knee and sang me a love song. Then he popped the question and put a ring on my finger. The next Sunday, he announced to everyone that he’d gotten engaged to an American girl!  It was a big surprise for the community, but I was welcomed right away.

We were married on November 30th, and it was the most fun, perfect wedding we could have asked for. My mom came for our wedding, but my dad and sister had to stay back in the states and take care of my elderly grandparents. We Skyped our ceremony and my dad said afterward that he felt he was there with us.

I’m thankful for my husband every single day. I never believed in soulmates until I met him.  I’ve never met anyone who is so in love with Jesus. We feel very blessed by God and are amazed looking back at all He has done for us. Adjusting to life in a new country was a hard and often lonely experience, however.

Then God put a word on my heart: “Joy.” But I kept asking God over and over again because I didn’t understand what it meant to me. Then God said to me, “Count it all joy.”

Then I understood: living in a completely foreign environment I faced many potential hardships. There is great temptation to become bitter, burned-out and depressed. But God is asking me to rebel against discouragement, to praise Him in everything and to draw my joy from Him.

 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

–Philippians 4:4

 

Eventually we moved to the US. A year later, we had our precious son, Asaph. I’ve never really thought of myself as especially maternal, but I’ve been amazed at the way God has given me grace to nurture our son.

This blog is a place which helps me think. I hope the lessons I am learning will bless readers as well.